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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26787757">Murder She Wrote</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TriDogMom/pseuds/TriDogMom'>TriDogMom</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Banter, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Murder Mystery, Only One Bed, Sassy Harry Potter, Snarky Pansy, Suicide</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 06:00:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,747</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26787757</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TriDogMom/pseuds/TriDogMom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A serial killer is attacking the magical world and Harry Potter is on the case. The only problem: Prophet reporter Pansy Parkinson is a pain in his arse each step of the way.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Pansy Parkinson/Harry Potter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>127</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Murder She Wrote</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheImperfectionista/gifts">TheImperfectionista</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Written for TheImperfectionista. She came up with the title and gave me about 1k in notes to write this. I am so honoured she trusted me with her plunny and I hope I did it justice. </p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Come on, Potter," Pansy Parkinson said, tapping her manicured nail against his chest, "you have to give me something. A Hogwarts student is murdered and dumped in the woods behind the Three Broomsticks where a rare <em>female</em> Centaur finds him and all you can say is '<em>no comment'</em>?"</p>
<p>Harry ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "I'd have a comment if you were a <em>real</em> reporter, Parkinson. I refuse to pander to a sub-par sensationalist who is one step above Rita Skeeter."</p>
<p>"Excuse me? I report the <em>facts</em>!"</p>
<p>"The facts? Really? So that explains the roadkill you summoned to the banks of the Cherwell River when Muggles found that lost Kelpie when they were punting and then 'reported' that it was attacking locals?" Harry stepped back from her and walked towards his desk, sitting down. He really ought to have the press banned from entering the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Or at least this member of the press.</p>
<p>"Oh don't make those air quotes at me, Harry Potter," Pansy sneered and stalked towards him, standing between his legs. "Sometimes a reporter has to make the story a little more exciting. One dead squirrel and a Muggle missing half a toe weren't going to sell."</p>
<p>"That explains why when a spark, <em>a tiny spark</em>, from the Guy Fawkes' Day fireworks landed on that boy's hand you conjured bandages all over your photographer and said he was permanently disfigured by botched Weasley products? Or taking pictures of Centaurs during their sacred mating season and calling it a 'mass orgy on Hogwarts grounds'?"</p>
<p>"Did you see the pictures?" Pansy asked. "That <em>was</em> an orgy, Potter."</p>
<p>"You were just angry they didn't invite you to join them, Parkinson," Harry quipped. "The fact is that is wasn't an orgy. It was their annual ritual, during the summer hols, on land that is warded from students."</p>
<p>Pansy rolled her eyes. "Like I want to fuck Centaurs. I don't even know how that would work."</p>
<p>"A harness or a Hover Charm probably."</p>
<p>"I'm sorry? Is the Head Auror giving a Daily Prophet reporter tips on how to engage in Beastiality? That's against the law isn't it?"</p>
<p>"Fuck me," Harry muttered to himself. "Technically Centaurs are no longer classified as beasts so it would be interspecies sex, which is allowed under the new laws. But no, I was not giving you tips. I'm an Auror, you ask a question, I look for answers."</p>
<p>"Instead of looking for answers on the murder of a Hogwarts student though, you're in your office, talking to me. And still not giving me anything on what you know."</p>
<p>Harry took a deep breath. He was so fucking sick of the press. It was bad enough that they reported on all aspects of his personal life — including the fact that he was twenty-five and <em>still</em> single — but they somehow were even more of a pain in his professional life. Was it too much to ask that he just be allowed to do his job and not have to deal with them? Maybe it was time he took a page out of the Muggle world and hired a PR person or two for their department.</p>
<p>"Parkinson," he started, his patience gone, "you bloody well know that I will have an official statement sent to the Prophet offices, as well as every other publication in Britain, with plenty of time for it to be printed in the morning edition."</p>
<p>"Potter, I want something now. I'm trying to be the top reporter and I won't get there if I'm reporting the same news as everyone else."</p>
<p>"That's the problem! Instead of reporting the news, you report rubbish and embellishments. That apothecary explosion — that was contained in their legally required and maintained wards, by the way — for example. Instead of covering the fact that no one was hurt, you talked about all the children that <em>could</em> have died if it happened on the thirty-first of August instead of the third of September when they were in school."</p>
<p>"I gave the facts. But getting people to <em>feel</em> the right way is important, Potter. I'm not leaving until you give me something. Anything."</p>
<p>"Merlin save me from pushy women." Harry took off his glasses and ran his hands over his face. "Sit, I'll give you two minutes."</p>
<p>Pansy beamed at him and flounced — there was really no other word for the way she moved — over to one of the chairs on the other side of his desk. Pulling out a Dict-o-Quill, she placed it to her notepad. Harry gave her the facts and watched as her quill recorded them. He was just thankful it wasn't a Quick Quotes Quill. If nothing else, Pansy made sure she got the facts before she sensationalised them.</p>
<p>And the facts on this case weren't pretty. A thirteen-year-old Ravenclaw had spent the day with his friends in Hogsmeade, the first of the school year. He'd forgotten his cloak at the Three Broomsticks and ran back to get it. He never showed up at the school. Instead, one of four female Centaurs from the Hogwarts' herd had appeared in public for the first time in recorded history, carrying his dead body from the forest. She'd heard a noise and gone to investigate. The boy had been strangled by a black silk tie around his neck. After his death, the tie was wrapped twice around his face, covering his nose and mouth.</p>
<p>The Aurors had followed the Centaur to the place where the body was found, but all trace of magic in the area was erased. A spell that was only taught to Aurors, Obiviators, and members of the Accidental Reversal Squad. Not that he would tell Pansy Parkinson that bit. The body had been spelled clean the same way. The only thing that was strange about the body, besides the fact that the child was murdered was his outfit.</p>
<p>His Ravenclaw scarf had been charmed Slytherin Green.</p>
<p>"Why charm the scarf a different colour?" Pansy asked. "To pin it on someone?"</p>
<p>"I'm not sure," Harry answered honestly. "Things are changing, but you know how people feel about your old House. Maybe they were sending a message? Maybe they wanted revenge on Slytherin for something but this was the only target they could isolate so they made do?"</p>
<p>"Do you think all Hogsmead visits should be cancelled?"</p>
<p>"I think Headmistress McGonagall will ensure the safety of her students and the Aurors will help her and the magical community in any way we can."</p>
<p>"Is this the work of a repeat killer?" Pansy inquired.</p>
<p>"I fucking hope not," Harry mumbled. Pansy raised her eyebrow at him. "At this time, we have no evidence that points to a serial killer, nor have we seen anything that would suggest another attack. Especially because an Auror level spell was used to scrub the scene." Harry internally berated himself. He hadn't meant to say that. "Please don't report that. But as always, the public should be aware of their surroundings and if possible, don't wander about alone."</p>
<p>"I think I have what I need, Potter. Thanks for talking with me."</p>
<p>"It's always a pleasure to be harassed by you, Parkinson. Now please, report the facts. Unbiased. Unembellished."</p>
<p>Pansy gathered her things together and made her way to his office door before turning to look at him.</p>
<p>"I have to say, Potter, I'm impressed by your vocabulary. Hermione buy you one of those word-of-the-day calendars?"</p>
<p>"No. But Draco did. It was very magnanimous of him."</p>
<p>As Pansy left, Harry slumped back in his chair. That woman was more — he paused to double-check the word on the calendar — tenacious than a dog with a bone. It really was too bad she liked to exaggerate the truth. The wizarding world could use a reporter as dedicated to getting the story as she was.</p><hr/>
<p>"Fuck," Harry growled, causing Senior Auror Blaise Zabini to look at up from the dead body.</p>
<p>"What's wrong, boss?" Blaise asked.</p>
<p>"Besides the fact that this fucking crime scene was wiped clean just like the last one so we have nothing to go off of? Parkinson just showed up. Fucking vulture."</p>
<p>"Sexy vulture though. Her arse is looking good in those trousers."</p>
<p>"I don't notice anything but her loud mouth and annoying questions."</p>
<p>Harry sighed as Pansy stopped next to him and looked at the dead woman. He really needed to have laws changed about where the press could go. As of now, her entering a crime scene, photographer in tow was perfectly legal. When Bob — or Joe or whatever his name was — raised his camera, Harry stopped them.</p>
<p>"Parkinson, no pictures of dead bodies," he said in his best authoritarian voice.</p>
<p>"The public has the–" she began but Harry cut her off.</p>
<p>"I know they do, but it's a little morbid to print pictures of dead bodies."</p>
<p>Pansy paused for a moment. "I'll leave the picture out if you give me an exclusive statement."</p>
<p>"Fucking ambitious snakes are a pain in my arse," Harry muttered causing Blaise to chuckle. "Fine, Parkinson. Give me five minutes."</p>
<p>"Thank you, Head Auror Potter." Pansy beamed at him then looked at the woman. "What's her name?"</p>
<p>"Janis Swan. Why do you know her?"</p>
<p>"I don't. But she looks familiar. Like I've seen her before. Her eyes sure are stunning." She looked at Blaise. "Reminds me of your mum's eyes. Is she related to you? Auror Zabini's Examines Murdered Aunt's Body would make a good headline."</p>
<p>Crass headline remark aside, Harry had to agree. The woman had the most startling and vibrant aqua coloured eyes Harry had ever seen.</p>
<p>"Sorry, Pans. Not my aunt. Both of my parents were only children."</p>
<p>"That's a shame." Pansy turned back to Harry. "I'll be in the pub. You have five minutes before I return."</p>
<p>"Your friend is a piece of work, Zabini," Harry said.</p>
<p>Blaise didn't reply and Harry looked up to see him watching Pansy walk away, a pained look on his face. Harry figured he was just trying to process the crassness of Pansy's words. Who thought it was a shame when a person murdered <em>wasn't</em> a relative? Harry might not give a rat's arse if his uncle was killed, but he knew he was in the minority.</p>
<p>Blaise shook his head as if clearing his thoughts and looked at Harry. "Pansy's always been blunt like that. She has a good heart."</p>
<p>"Maybe under all that ice."</p><hr/>
<p>Harry entered the pub and ordered a Guinness, sandwich, and crisps before joining Pansy at her table. It had already been a long day and he'd missed lunch. If she didn't like it, she could leave. He was surprised to see her drinking a glass of white wine in a Muggle establishment, but then remembered the strange friendship she had with Hermione. Like himself, Hermione preferred to go out in the Muggle world so avoid the stares. She gave his food a look but didn't say anything.</p>
<p>Between bites, he told her what they knew so far. The woman, a homebody in her mid-fifties that, according to her neighbours, preferred her own company to others. She was polite but skittish in large groups. The village she lived in was mostly Muggle and she didn't seem to interact with the Muggles at all. She'd been killed the same way, strangled by a black silk tie before it was secured twice around her face covering her airways.</p>
<p>"So we're talking about a…" Pansy trailed off. "Fuck, what was that Muggle term Hermione used. Porridge killer? Cereal?"</p>
<p>"Serial Killer. Like a pattern, not a breakfast food," Harry teased her.</p>
<p>"Piss off, Potter. So the victim was killed the same way?"</p>
<p>Harry confirmed her question before giving her more information. Once again, the scene was cleaned before the body was found on the edge of the local toad farm run by an old wizard. Her clothes didn't seem to belong to her, they were much too nice and not her size. The farmer, who'd lived next to the woman for the last thirty years said it didn't look like anything she'd ever worn. Harry had already done a quick search of her wardrobe and there was nothing remotely similar within.</p>
<p>Pansy took a sip of her wine and looked over her notes. "So the same method of killing. Clothes changed as well. But this time it was the outfit instead of just one article. The person was alone when killed. Black silk tie. Am I missing anything?"</p>
<p>"No," Harry answered.</p>
<p>"Do you think it's the same person or a copycat?"</p>
<p>"Since no one reported that the crime scene was scrubbed beforehand — thank you for keeping that quiet by the way — I think it's the same person."</p>
<p>"Are there any connections between this victim and the last?"</p>
<p>Taking off his glasses, Harry rubbed his face. There was none that they could find. Thirteen-year-old black Hogwarts student and a fifty-six-year-old white woman. The boy was gregarious and well-liked. The woman appeared to be a hermit who spent more time with her houseplants than she did with other people. Besides their murders and being magical, they had nothing to link them.</p>
<p>"I think I have everything I need, Potter." Pansy stood up. "Same safety disclosure shite you gave me last time to tell the public?"</p>
<p>"Yes. And as much as you're a sliver in my broomstick, Parkinson, that goes for you too. I don't need to see you fall victim to some black tie strangling person."</p>
<p>"Black Tie Strangler?" Pansy gasped. "That is a perfect name, Potter! Thanks for coming up with it."</p>
<p>He watched her walk out the door, photographer in tow. He couldn't stand the way Pansy treated her employee. He'd watched her make him work an hour after he said he needed to use the restroom, never brought him coffee when she bought one for herself, talked down to him, and countless other things that would have caused Harry to walk off the job. But as he took in the way she walked, he had to admit that Blaise was right.</p>
<p>Her arse did look good in those trousers.</p><hr/>
<p>Pansy looked through her dressing room one more time. She could have sworn her favourite black skirt was hanging in her yesterday. She wanted to wear them for drinks with Hermione because it had been too long since she'd been laid and that skirt fit like a second skin. Her wand buzzed and she checked the time. Only fifteen minutes until she had to leave. She grabbed her other black skirt that was a little looser and longer and made a note to look for the other one in her second dressing room soon.</p>
<p>Thursday night drinks with Hermione was her favourite night of the week. Their friendship had begun a couple of years back when Hermione and Draco started dating. Pansy and Draco were like siblings and when she'd heard he'd finally gotten the girl he'd pinned after for years, Pansy had decided to give the bookworm a chance. Now, the two women spent as much time together as their busy schedules allowed.</p>
<p>Checking herself over one last time, Pansy went to her door to grab her jacket. She hated to cover up her deep purple blouse, but they were going out in Muggle London and walking around without a coat on a cold March evening was bound to stand out. She went to open her door when Potter's words from earlier in the day floated through her mind. He didn't want to see her become the next victim. Walking out onto Social Alley — the exclusive street adjacent to Diagon Alley, home of people such as Hermione, Draco, the successful Weasley children, and every other member of high society their age — alone probably wasn't a good idea.</p>
<p>She lived in an exclusive building with only three other flats and had a doorman, but it was a few minutes walk to the row house Daco and Hermione shared. Thinking about the people she shared a building with, she hoped they were taking precautions as well. Blaise and Theo Nott were both Aurors so they should be fine. Daphne and Astoria Greengrass never went anywhere without each other, but Pansy jotted a note to them to be extra vigilant. Opening her door, she magicked it across the hall and under their door.</p>
<p>Making sure her flat was secure one last time, she grabbed a handful of Floo powder and called out the name of Hermione's house.</p><hr/>
<p>"Parkinson, what the fuck is this?" Harry yelled, slapping a copy of The Prophet onto her desk."</p>
<p>"It appears you're having lunch in the Muggle world with a <em>very</em> attractive woman," Pansy said, looking the picture over. "Great legs. Are you here to confirm the new woman in your life?"</p>
<p>"This is you! That's the interview we had two days ago. You had your lap dog take a picture then wrote that it was a date with a mystery woman."</p>
<p>"And?" Pansy asked. That picture and her speculation about who it might be had earned her a nice bonus.</p>
<p>"Really?" Harry said, arms crossed and eyes glaring at her. "You know what the truth is, Parkinson."</p>
<p>"Yes, but the public doesn't. <em>The Boy Who Might Finally Get A Shag</em> sells papers. <em>Head Auror Does His Job And Talks To Reporter</em> doesn't."</p>
<p>"Is it too much to ask that you only report facts?"</p>
<p>"I did." Pansy picked up the paper. "Harry Potter and an unidentified woman. I didn't say it was me, so fact. Eating lunch in Muggle pub, fact. Attractive woman… well, look at me. That's a fucking fact."</p>
<p>Harry glared at her before grabbing the paper and fisting it in his hand until it was in the shape of a ball. He muttered a spell she didn't hear before walking towards the door. He turned and tossed the paper in the air, sending a blasting charm at it. It exploded into a million pieces of glitter that rained down on her.</p>
<p>"Next time, I do that in your flat, Parkinson."</p>
<p>"Fuck," Pansy growled. Now she was going to have fucking glitter in her office for the next two decades.</p><hr/>
<p>"This was fun, Pans," Hermione said, giggling as they walked down Diagon Alley. "Ron's face when you told him to fuck off was the highlight."</p>
<p>"That man child is a menace," Pansy said with a laugh. "I can't believe you snogged him."</p>
<p>"I was young and thought I was going to die!"</p>
<p>"Because kissing a freckled git is what every girl wants to do before she dies."</p>
<p>"You didn't seem to mind kissing Charlie," Hermione protested.</p>
<p>"Charlie is all muscles, sex, and has a huge cock," Pansy explained. "And he's not Ronald."</p>
<p>They had been out with their normal gang at the Leaky Cauldron celebrating Hermione and Draco's engagement when Ron had gone off on her about a story she'd printed the day before. It wasn't her fault he liked to sleep with women without protection and had finally got one of them up the duff. Maybe she didn't need to print <em>all </em>the names Romilda Vane had called Ron, but if Pansy was being honest, it was funny.</p>
<p>The men had all been called out for an Auror emergency and two of them had decided to have one more drink before walking home since the weather was mild. It had been two weeks since the last murder, but she had been careful to be with someone anytime she was out. Pansy knew she should have followed them, the Prophet would probably want her to cover it but a mass breakout of Kneazles from a breeder in Wales wasn't her idea of a fun time. Instead, she'd sent Bob to take pictures and promised him her article fee.</p>
<p>The man was a creep but the Prophet wouldn't let her use anyone else because he took the best pictures. But if she had to remind him to keep his hands and eyes to himself one more time, she was going to hex his hands off. Fucking pervert. She knew everyone thought she was a bitch to him, but they didn't have to deal with him.</p>
<p>They had just walked past the entrance to Knockturn Alley when Pansy felt someone grab her and start to turn. Screaming, she reached for her wand, but before she could, the person holding her yelped and dropped her. She landed hard on the ground and a flash of pain ripped through her wrist. With a loud crack, they were gone, but not before Pansy saw their face.</p>
<p>Bob.</p>
<p>What the fuck? Why was he grabbing her? And why had he let her go?</p>
<p>"Pansy? Are you okay?" Hermione cried, kneeling next to her. She swirled her wand around and a bright white otter appeared. "Tell Harry and Draco that Pansy was attacked at the entrance to Knockturn."</p>
<p>She watched the otter blink out of sight and with it, the world around her.</p><hr/>
<p>"Tell me what happened," Harry's voice commanded.</p>
<p>Pansy opened her eyes as Hermione started talking. She was laying on the sofa in Hermione and Draco's house and was surrounded by her friends. Draco held Hermione in his arms and Theo was talking notes for Harry. The Malfoy's private healer was running his wand over her.</p>
<p>"Broken wrist," he told her. "Already fixed it. I'm going to leave you with bruise paste for your left hip. It's going to be sore for a couple of days."</p>
<p>"Parkinson," Harry barked at her. "You're awake. What do you remember?"</p>
<p>She said goodbye to the healer before going through the details of what had happened since they had left the Leaky, Pansy noticed the confusion cross Harry's face when she explained her attack. He went through the standard Auror questions twice more and she rolled her eyes. She wasn't some scared little country girl. She was a reporter. A damn good one. A reporter that made sure to take in everything around her as quickly as possible.</p>
<p>"What are you getting at, Potter?" she snapped.</p>
<p>"When we received Hermione's Patronus, the Kneazles were already rounded up, but a few of us were finishing up the questions. Bob was still with us taking pictures. Are you positive it was him?"</p>
<p>"I spend all fucking day with the man, I think I know when it's him and when it isn't."</p>
<p>"But he has an alibi."</p>
<p>"How in the fuck are you the Head Auror?"</p>
<p>"Excuse me?" Harry gaped at her.</p>
<p>"Human transfiguration ring a bell?" Pansy asked. "Or Polyjuice? If the real Bob was with you, maybe someone was pretending to be him? They probably thought he was someone I'd feel safe going off with."</p>
<p>"I already thought of that, Parkinson. Regardless of what you think about me, I'm Head Auror because I'm the best. I'm trying to make sure your information is correct."</p>
<p>"Then you can tell me why he dropped me as soon as I screamed and Disapparated."</p>
<p>"Because I sent a stinging hex at him," Hermione spoke up. Pansy looked at her friend. Her face was ashen and she was in Draco's arms. "I'm so sorry I couldn't stop him from leaving, Pans. I was so worried about you."</p>
<p>Pansy knew what Hermione was feeling. If Pansy was in her shoes, she'd feel the same way. The war, the darkness was supposed to be behind them. They shouldn't have to be prepared to defend themselves or their friends from attacks anymore. The war was five years ago but right now, it felt like they were still in the middle of it.</p>
<p>"Your actions probably saved her, Hermione," Harry said gently. "Once he realised he couldn't take her easily, he fled."</p>
<p>"My hero," Pansy said sarcastically but winked at Hermione.</p>
<p>"So, Pans," Draco began, "who would want to abduct you? Any angry letters lately?"</p>
<p>Pansy thought back over the last few weeks. "I've only received one nasty letter in the last month."</p>
<p>Draco's quill was hovering over his notepad and he urged her to continue. "Who was it from?"</p>
<p>"Potter."</p>
<p>"You called me Bed-Head Auror Potter!" Harry defended himself.</p>
<p>"I thought it was brilliant," Draco laughed. "We're putting you under Auror watch, Pans. At least for the next few weeks."</p>
<p>"What?" Pansy yelled. "You can't be serious. I don't need some wand happy Auror following me around."</p>
<p>"Yes, you do. That person could have been the serial killer we're looking for. Had you thought of that?"</p>
<p>Dread filled Pansy's stomach. She <em>hadn't</em> thought of that. But the idea of having hired muscle following her around sounded horrible. They would have to be in her flat, her sanctuary. The list of people that could enter her flat was minuscule and she had no desire to change that.</p>
<p>"Fine," Pansy said sharply. "You can do it, Draco."</p>
<p>"Draco is assigned to Hermione," Harry said. "Since we can't be positive you both weren't the target, we want to make sure you're both safe."</p>
<p>Pansy smirked at his comment. There was no way Hermione Bad Ass Mother Fucker Granger was going to let Draco or Harry be her security guard. Looking up though, her stomach dropped. Hermione was smiling at Draco like he was her knight in shining armour.</p>
<p>"Traitorous bitch."</p>
<p>Hermione laughed. "This means I get to be with Draco more often. I only see the pros in this situation."</p>
<p>"I'll make sure you're assigned the best Auror we have," Harry promised. "For tonight, do you mind staying here? I need to get this report in."</p>
<p>"Fine. Theo, can you bring me over clothes?"</p>
<p>"Of course, Pans," Theo told her, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "Glad you're okay. No getting attacked while I'm gone."</p><hr/>
<p>"Parkinson, what are you doing here?" Harry asked.</p>
<p>There had been another murder. This time the victim was found by a Muggle who called it in to the police. The Auror assigned to listen to police calls heard about the black tie on the victim and Aurors were on the scene within minutes.</p>
<p>The body had been found at Wookey Hole Caves, a popular Muggle place in Somerset. Harry had been having brunch at the Burrow with the Weasleys, Hermione and Draco when the call came in and leaving her with them, they were the first to arrive on the scene. Draco had become so upset, Harry ordered Blaise to remove him from the caves.</p>
<p>"The idiot you currently have assigned to me, whatever his name is, was called in," Pansy explained. "He said he couldn't leave me so he brought me. You need to find me someone new, Potter. He's horrible."</p>
<p>"That's the seventh one in eight days! Maybe you're the problem. Merlin, you make them sleep in the hallway outside your flat."</p>
<p>"That is my sacred space. I'm not letting someone with bad energy in there. We can argue about this later. What do you have?"</p>
<p>Harry hesitated. He didn't want Pansy to see this. <em>He</em> didn't want to see it.</p>
<p>"Another victim. Same method." Harry spoke bluntly and quickly, hoping she'd request a private interview somewhere else and leave.</p>
<p>"What was odd about the clothes this time?" Pansy asked. When Harry didn't answer, she looked hard at him. "What aren't you telling me? Is it someone I know?"</p>
<p>"No. But the body is made to look like someone we know."</p>
<p>"Who?"</p>
<p>"Hermione."</p>
<p>Pansy just stared at him before asking him to show her. Walking towards the body, he felt her stiffen next to him and he placed his hand around her waist, giving her support if she wanted it. The woman, a young, well-liked bookkeeper from the Ministry, was dressed in a Hogwarts Gryffindor uniform and was holding a copy of <em>Hogwarts: A History</em>. The uniform and the book were all Hermione's.</p>
<p>Because laundry was done by the school elves, each item of clothing had the student's name printed on it. The uniform on the body had Hermione's, in her own handwriting. And the book in her hand was Hermione's copy. Harry had already sent Draco to pick up Hermione — Merlin knew Draco needed to see her — and check if the items were missing from their home.</p>
<p>She had been killed the same way, but it seemed this girl put up more of a fight. Her neck was almost black with bruises and her nails were ripped. Harry was frustrated that there wasn't a scrap of evidence to be found. How were they supposed to find someone who knew how not to be found? He felt sick to his stomach. Was the killer someone he'd worked with in the past? Unless they'd retired more than five years ago, he would know them.</p>
<p>"But why dress the victim up like Hermione as a student or in any of her clothes?" Pansy looked at the body again. "I don't get it. We've been out of school for years."</p>
<p>"Maybe someone wishes they went to school with us? Or hated Hermione for getting better grades?" Harry guessed.</p>
<p>To be honest, he'd been racking his brain since he'd seen the book in the victim's hand. Hermione had made a few enemies with her creature laws and then the public was shocked, and some people angry when her relationship with Draco went public. But that was all more than two years ago. Unless Draco or Hermione hadn't mentioned it to him, which was unlikely she hadn't even received a Howler when they got engaged last week.</p>
<p>"How did they get her stuff?" Pansy asked, interrupting his thoughts. "Their house is warded as strongly as both of ours. Only certain people can enter. More than my flat, but still."</p>
<p>"Hey boss," Theo said, entering the cave with Blaise stopping Harry before he could answer. "Hey, Pans. Blaise and I heard from Draco. Her school trunk is kept in one of the guest rooms and one of her uniforms is missing. Said the book is missing from her study as well. Said it was there a couple of days ago because Draco was teasing her about forgetting a passage from it."</p>
<p>"Said there hadn't been any breaches to his wards," Blaise added. "Everything has been quiet."</p>
<p>Harry saw Pansy's eyes flash and Theo and Blaise both gave her a searching look but she said nothing for a moment. "Was there anything else missing?"</p>
<p>"Hermione said she felt like things had been moved a few times over the last month or so, but couldn't be sure," Blaise answered. "Clothes she thought she'd put in the laundry back in her dressing room, things like that."</p>
<p>"I should go see her. Potter, get one of your idiots to take me."</p>
<p>"We can take you," Theo said. "We're heading out."</p>
<p>"Can I stop by my flat first? I want clothes in case Potter can't find anyone and I have to stay with Draco again. It's really too bad one of my <em>friends</em> can't be assigned to me."</p>
<p>Harry sighed as the trio walked out of the cave. He would assign Theo or Blaise to Pansy in a heartbeat if he could. He'd argued with the Head of the DMLE but they claimed the men were 'too close to the situation.' When Harry had argued that Draco was assigned to Hermione, he'd been told it was different because they lived together. If you asked Harry, Pansy basically lived with Theo and Blaise. It was the same building.</p>
<p>Instead, he'd had to assign a different Auror to her each day. They all threatened to quit the Auror Squad if they had to be with her for one more day. One woman had lasted two days until Pansy lost her temper and hexed her bald. Harry knew what he had to do. He had to be her personal Auror.</p>
<p>At least he wouldn't have to sleep in the hallway. He was one of the few people she allowed in her flat. He was pretty sure Hermione had insisted on it, but regardless, he could go in. And if she didn't want him in there, she could stay with him. His house was next door to Hermione and Draco's but he did feel a little uneasy. If someone could get through Malfoy's wards without detection would they be able to get into his?</p>
<p>Pansy had a nice flat, but it was only two bedrooms. If someone broke in during the night he'd be able to be by her side in seconds. The closest bedroom to his was a floor below. He could move his bed into the empty room across the hall from that one, but it seemed like a hassle.</p><hr/>
<p>Pansy entered her flat and looked around. As soon as Theo talked about the book missing within the last couple of days, Pansy had started to think back. Hadn't she noticed some of the same things? Her black skirt was still missing. So was a pair of heels she loved. But she had loaned them to Astoria. She was pretty sure her friend returned them, but maybe she was wrong. She noticed the framed pressed pansy her grandmother had given her seemed to have been moved one day. It always sat on her nightstand, facing her bed, but one day it was facing the room. She thought she must have knocked into it, but now she wasn't sure.</p>
<p>"You okay, love?" Theo asked.</p>
<p>"Not worried about Hermione are you?" Blaise asked. "You know that wasn't her, right? Just some sicko trying to make it look like her."</p>
<p>"I know," Pansy said. For some reason, she didn't want to tell them that she'd experienced the same things as Hermione. "I'm going to get packed. Will one of you grab my yellow bag from my other dressing room? It's hanging up on the right-hand side."</p>
<p>"Nott it!" Theo yelled, smirking at the same joke he'd been using since they were toddlers.</p>
<p>"Like I'd trust your colour blind arse to be able to pick out yellow."</p>
<p>Pansy had her clothes in a pile when Blaise entered her main dressing room, yellow bag in hand. She thanked him as she began to pack it.</p>
<p>"You really should let the Auror's sleep inside," Blaise said. "They're trying to help you."</p>
<p>"This coming from the man that never lets anyone in his flat," Pansy teased. She'd been in Blaise's flat less than ten times in the six years she'd lived in the building.</p>
<p>"I don't like guests. But these are Aurors."</p>
<p>"I know, but I still don't like it. If Potter doesn't find someone soon, I'll go stay with my parent's. We can activate the blood wards so I would only need an Auror when I leave."</p><hr/>
<p>"But I don't want to stay at your place, Potter," Pansy said.</p>
<p>Harry had just shown up at Hermione and Draco's to let her know he was going to be her personal security detail. She knew she was acting silly but the truth was she didn't sleep well in other people's houses, never had. It took her two months to get used to sleeping at Hogwarts every school year.</p>
<p>"Fine," Harry said, sighing. "I'll stay with you. But I'm not sleeping on the sofa or in the hallway. I'll stay in your second bedroom."</p>
<p>"There isn't room."</p>
<p>"Your flat is the exact same as Theo's, Parkinson. Your second room is big enough to fit a king-sized bed."</p>
<p>"It is, but I had changes made."</p>
<p>"Pansy turned it into a second dressing room," Hermione explained. "For all her off-season clothes and her accessories."</p>
<p>Harry stared at Hermione nonplussed. "What in Merlin's left nutsack are off-season clothes?"</p>
<p>Draco chuckled. "In the spring, you put all your autumn and winter clothes into your second dressing room. In the autumn, all your spring and summer clothes."</p>
<p>"Well excuse the fuck out of me for wearing summer jeans during winter," Harry said with an eyeroll. "How positively provincial of me."</p>
<p>"We forgive you, Potter."</p>
<p>"Two options, Parkinson. You can stay at my house until we decide it's safe, or we're sharing a bed at your place."</p>
<p>Pansy wasn't keen on having Harry in her bed, but maybe if he was there she'd get some sleep. Sleeping at his place wasn't an option for her, and now that she suspected someone had entered her flat, she wasn't sure she'd be able to sleep alone at her place either. She could transfigure her sofa, but it would throw off the flow and unless Harry kicked in his sleep or something, she didn't want that. It had taken a long time to find the balance she enjoyed in her space.</p>
<p>"You better not snore, Potter."</p><hr/>
<p>On the plus side, Harry didn't snore. On the downside, he was a snuggler. Pansy had woken up wrapped in his arms, his morning erection pressing into her arse. Normally waking up in a man's arms was something she enjoyed, but this was <em>Potter</em>. She didn't say anything, just untangled herself and left the room.</p>
<p>She was halfway through her daily fruit cup and yoghurt when the Daily Prophet owl arrived. Unrolling it, she scanned her article before flipping through the rest of the paper. She grit her teeth at the picture of her and Harry entering her building together. <em>Great, now all the Potterheads are going to think I stole their man.</em> Harry's fangirls were a crazy group and now that he was her personal escort, she'd be subjected to them more often.</p>
<p>"Can I see that when you're done?" Harry asked, walking into her dining room with his plate of eggs and toast.</p>
<p>Harry had arrived at her house the night before and taken one look around her kitchen before sending an owl to Hermione who'd shown up with Draco a few minutes later, her beaded bag full of food from Harry's place. Evidently, Boy Wonder was too good to forego carbs for breakfast while staying with her. Handing him the first few pages, Pansy continued to scan the society pages.</p>
<p>"Looks like Ronald found a new slag," Pansy muttered.</p>
<p>"His dick is going to fall off if he doesn't stop," Harry said, glancing at the picture she showed him. "That one is old enough to be his mother. Who is probably going to murder him when she sees that."</p>
<p>"If Mrs Weasley doesn't, Romilda will. Poor girl actually loves the git."</p>
<p>She started to read again when Harry growled low. <em>He must be reading my piece.</em> Watching him from the corner of her eye, she watched his face change from his normal hue to pink to red.</p>
<p>"What the fuck, Parkinson?" Harry slammed the paper in front of her. "You promised you wouldn't report the uniform and book."</p>
<p>"No," Pansy defended herself. "I said I wouldn't report that it was <em>Hermione's</em> things on the body. I just said it was an old uniform and textbook. Creepier that way. Better for circulation."</p>
<p>"You broke your promise to me and violated Hermione's trust for <em>sales</em>?"</p>
<p>"I didn't break anything. If people think the murderer is going after Hogwarts Alumni, which is almost the entire population, they'll be more vigilant. If they knew the killer was going after Hermione, they'd talk about it, but not be as concerned for themselves."</p>
<p>Harry was quiet for a moment. "I didn't think about that. You're right."</p>
<p>"I'm sorry," Pansy choked. "Did you just admit I was right?"</p>
<p>"You want a fucking badge, Parkinson? It was a good idea. Don't get cocky."</p><hr/>
<p>"Potter, what in Merlin's name is that?" Pansy asked, a look of disgust on her face.</p>
<p>"What?" Harry asked, confused. "My dinner?"</p>
<p>"You eat food that's all mixed together like that? And are those potatoes. Do you know what carbs do to your weight?"</p>
<p>Harry summoned the Yorkshire pudding he'd forgotten and placed in on top of his food. He'd prepared a roast for dinner and was looking forward to it. After spending the day allowing Pansy to come to work with him and interview Aurors, he needed a hardy meal. He examined his plate to see what was wrong with it, but everything looked and smelled great to him. He sat at the kitchen table and picked up his utensils.</p>
<p>"This is how I eat roast," he told her. "Besides, it all mixes together in my stomach."</p>
<p>"You're such a man, Potter."</p>
<p>He watched as Pansy plated her own food. Gravy-less meat on the right, the roasted carrots and parsnips on the left, and if he wasn't mistaken, she'd cast a charm between them to keep them from touching. He saw the longing in her face as she looked at the Yorkshire pudding but didn't pick one up. Instead, she came to sit across from him. They ate in silence for a few moments before she sighed loudly.</p>
<p>"What?" Harry snapped. "You're just going to keep sighing until you say it. So get it out so I can enjoy my food."</p>
<p>Pansy sat her fork down and glared at him. "I just don't see how you can eat meat that's covered in gravy on top of potatoes and combine it with a carrot, that's all. It's a little disgusting to watch."</p>
<p>"Yeah, well if you'd been raised with long periods of near-starvation as a child and teenager, you might feel differently. I spent the year at Hogwarts gaining back all the weight I'd lose each summer."</p>
<p>Harry clenched his jaw and took deep breaths to calm himself. He hated thinking about his time with the Dursleys. It didn't matter that he'd done three years of therapy, it still bothered him. Especially now that the Weasleys had started having children. Little Fred Jr was a year old, the same age Harry had been when he'd been taken to the Durselys. The boy wasn't his nephew by blood, but he was his Uncle Harry. And he couldn't <em>ever</em> imagine treating that sweet baby the way he'd been treated by his mum's own sister.</p>
<p>"I… er…" Pansy trailed off.</p>
<p>"Forget about it, Parkinson. Just be thankful that you don't have a reason to not be a picky eater."</p>
<p>They ate in uncomfortable silence until both of their plates were clean and Harry sent them to the sink to clean themselves. He started to package up the food into lunch containers for the next two days for himself — Pansy refused to eat leftovers. He was halfway done when her hand gripped his forearm. Looking up, he was surprised to see her face looking understanding.</p>
<p>"Sorry for what I said," Pansy whispered. "I don't know what it's like to not have food on the table, but I know a thing or two about unhappy childhoods if you ever need to talk."</p>
<p>"Thanks for the offer, Parkinson." Harry turned away from her, confused by her compassion.</p><hr/>
<p>Harry was pulled from his sleep by a feminine moan and the feel of a hot cunt rubbing against his clothed cock. He couldn't remember taking anyone home last night, but he kept his eyes closed, enjoying the feel of the soft body undulating against his. Finally deciding enough time had passed, he opened his eyes. No point in having someone rut against him when he could wake up and bury himself in their heat.</p>
<p>"What the fuck?" he whispered.</p>
<p>He hadn't taken anyone home. He was in Pansy's bedroom and instead of being on her side of the bed like she'd been when they fell asleep, she had one leg hooked over his hip and was dry humping him like a sixth year. He didn't really want her to stop. Regardless of how annoying she was, a willing cunt sounded heavenly. But she really needed to learn not to molest her house guests.</p>
<p>"Parkinson, what are you doing?" he asked.</p>
<p>Pansy's hips didn't stop moving. Her eyes didn't open. <em>Merlin save me, she's humping me in her sleep.</em></p>
<p>"Pansy," he said loudly. "Wake up!"</p>
<p>"What?" Pansy asked, her voice thick with sleep but her hips still moving.</p>
<p>"Wake up. You're having a dream or something."</p>
<p>A wet dream if the moisture on his pyjama pants was anything to go by. Pansy was fucking dripping all over him. Fuck, it had been too long since he'd been laid.</p>
<p>Pansy's hips stilled and she stiffened around him. "Holy fuck! Was I…"</p>
<p>"Using me as your own personal sex toy in our sleep?" Harry teased. "Yes."</p>
<p>Flipping over and burying her face under her pillow, Harry saw her shoulders begin to shake. Fuck, he hadn't meant to make her cry. Hermione was going to kill him for being insensitive when she found out. But there was no social etiquette for how to deal with horny witches that barely tolerated you but tried to mimic sex with your body.</p>
<p>Placing his hand on her back, he rubbed gently. "It's okay, Parkinson. I'm not angry."</p>
<p>She pulled her head out and glared at him, her face wet with tears. "I don't need your platitudes, Potter. I never want to see you or talk about this. Can you go sleep on the sofa or something?"</p>
<p>"I'm not hurting my back because you're a normal human that had a natural reaction to a man in your bed. You think I didn't wake up with a hard-on yesterday?"</p>
<p>"I <em>know</em> you did! It was poking me in the arse when I woke up with you wrapped around me like Devil's Snare. But you weren't trying to fuck me in your sleep."</p>
<p>"If you need to… get some relief, I'm happy to wait outside your room," he told her.</p>
<p>
  <em>Or stay and watch you. Maybe help you out a little. Show you what my tongue can do. Fill you with my cock? It's a pretty good size.</em>
</p>
<p>"I'm not going to rub one out while you listen at the door, Potter," Pansy snapped. "Can we just go back to bed and forget this entire thing happened?"</p>
<p>"Already forgotten."</p><hr/>
<p>Pansy opened her eyes to see she was once again wrapped around Harry, her face buried in his chest like he had been the night before, her leg hooked over his hip. She could feel his hardness pressing into her but at least this time she was still.</p>
<p>Waking up to find herself violating Harry had been mortifying and she wished she could Obliviate him. Or throw caution to the wind and see if he wanted to have a go. It had been too long since any man had shared her bed. The last time had been Charlie when he was home for Christmas. Five fucking months.</p>
<p>"Morning, Parkinson," Harry said quietly, his hand giving her hip a squeeze.</p>
<p>"Potter," she replied. "You didn't move me when you woke up?"</p>
<p>"I… er… didn't want you to think I was coming on to you or anything. Plus, it kind of felt nice waking up this way. You're not mean to me when you're sleeping."</p>
<p>Pansy couldn't help it, she burst out laughing at his words. It wasn't that she hated Harry. Far from it. He was one of a few people she trusted and she always enjoyed herself when they hung out as a group. It was just too much fun to tease him and see how long it took before he snapped.</p>
<p>"What time is it?" she asked when she stopped laughing.</p>
<p>He checked his watch. "Half six."</p>
<p>"Good, we can get a little more sleep." Pansy moved closer to him and bit back the moan that wanted to escape as his cock rubbed against her. "And if you tell anyone about this, Potter, I'll neuter you."</p>
<p>"No one would believe me anyway, Parkinson."</p><hr/>
<p>The next few days passed in the same fashion. Harry had fieldwork to do and Pansy, and occasionally Bob, would go with him. The Prophet had decided that a set of articles that highlighted what life was like for The Boy Who Lived would be something the public would enjoy so they were happy to pay Pansy to follow him around as long as she wrote interesting stories.</p>
<p>Each morning they woke in each other's arms and lingered a little longer than the day before. Pansy wasn't sure what was happening between them. During the day they still snapped and poked at each other, but as soon as they retired to her room a peace seemed to surround them. They no longer waited to snuggle in their sleep. Instead, Harry would pull her back against his chest and wrap an arm around her waist, holding her all night.</p>
<p>Pansy felt Harry's usual morning wood pressing into her arse and shifted back into it. Fuck it felt nice to feel desired. Even if it was his body's natural morning reaction, she could pretend it was for her.</p>
<p>"Fuck, Parkinson," Harry groaned. "If you do that, I'll be the one humping you this time."</p>
<p>"Well, well, well," a voice drawled from her bedroom door. "Don't you two look cosy."</p>
<p>Pansy took a deep breath. Merlin save her from interfering friends.</p>
<p>"Good Morning, Draco," Pansy said between clenched teeth.</p>
<p>"I bet it is. Or was. Emergency, boss."</p>
<p>Harry was out of bed in an instant and grabbing yesterday's clothes and walked into the bathroom.</p>
<p>"You better get dressed too, Pans," Draco told her.</p>
<p>"What happened?" Pansy got out of bed and headed towards her dressing room to find clothes.</p>
<p>"I'll go make coffee while you two get ready. It will be easier if I tell you both together."</p>
<p>Pansy took a drink of the coffee Draco placed in front of her and had her quill and notepad ready. Hermione was sitting next to Draco and she took his hand as he cleared his throat a few times.</p>
<p>"Just spit it out, Malfoy," Harry snapped.</p>
<p>"There was another body found," he said, speaking quickly as if it was best to get it over with. "Here in the alley. Dressed like you Pans. Even had a black wig on."</p>
<p>"Black skirt, blue blouse, and fife inch heels?" Pansy asked.</p>
<p>"Yes. How did you know?"</p>
<p>Pansy didn't answer him, instead, her mind was racing. So her things <em>were</em> taken and not just misplaced. The list of people who could enter her flat and not set off any alarms was short. Not even her parents were allowed in unless she adjusted the charms. She went through everything she knew about the four victims. Something was nagging at her brain. Flipping through the pages of her notepad, she ignored her friend's attempts to get her attention. Suddenly everything clicked into place.</p>
<p>"Holy fuck," Pansy muttered. "I know who it is."</p>
<p>"What?" they exclaimed in unison.</p>
<p>"Pansy," Harry said, the use of her given name pulling her from her thoughts. "Who is it?"</p>
<p>"It's Blaise," Pansy told him confidently. "The evidence fits."</p>
<p>"How?" Hermione asked. "Walk us through your thought process."</p>
<p>"First, the only people who could have retrieved my clothes and not set off my alarms are you three, Charlie Weasley, Theo, Blaise, Daphne, and Astoria. Potter accidentally let slip the area the bodies were found had been cleaned by a DMLE charm. That means Charlie, Daph, and Stori couldn't have done it."</p>
<p>"So how did you land on Blaise?" Draco was clearly confused. "Who we've been friends with since we were eleven by the way."</p>
<p>Pansy rolled her eyes. Like the length of their friendship made a difference. "Well, Potter was with me last night. You and he were together when someone tried to attack me, and Hermione was there so it can't be you three."</p>
<p>"Why not Theo?" Hermione asked.</p>
<p>"Because the first victim. Young <em>black</em> boy. Second victim, had his mother's eye colour. Third victim, dressed like you in school, where Blaise had a crush on you. Theo didn't. And Theo was there at your house when I woke up after the attack so I assume he was with you at the Kneazle place."</p>
<p>"You might be right, Parkinson," Harry added. "Blaise wasn't with us when Hermione's Patronus arrived. He had already left saying he had plans."</p>
<p>"Also, I noticed that blue blouse missing after Theo and Blaise brought me here to get clothes. Theo was with me the whole time, but Blaise went into my second dressing room to grab my bag. That shirt hangs right next to it and I noticed it missing the next day."</p>
<p>"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Draco said, running his hands down his face. "We gotta take him in Potter."</p>
<p>Pansy tuned them out as they talked about the best way to arrest Blaise before he realised she had figured it out. Evidently, he was down with the body, dumped feet from the entrance to their building, securing the area. Pansy couldn't believe one of her friends, someone she trusted could be killing people.</p>
<p>"Come on, Pans," Hermione said, grabbing her hand. "Let's sit on the sofa."</p>
<p>Pansy looked up to see Harry and Draco had already left. Her Floo burst into bright green flames and two tall figures stepped out and Pansy's alarm started to sound. As soon as she recognised the men, she flicked her wrist towards the panel of runes that controlled the wards and turned it off. Kingsley Shacklebolt gave her a nod, thanked her for her Floo access and was out the door before she could really process that he'd been there.</p>
<p>"Hey, Pansy, Hermione" Bill Weasley greeted her. "Harry said I was needed to update your wards right away. Remove some people?"</p>
<p>"Yeah," Pansy said, shocked that Potter had thought of that already. Bill owned his own security company and had personally warded her flat when she moved in. "Can you block everyone but Hermione, Potter, and Draco?"</p>
<p>"You gonna break it to Charlie that he's no longer welcome?" Bill teased as he started working on her wards.</p>
<p>"Pansy was snuggling with Harry this morning," Hermione told him. "Charlie might have had his access revoked soon."</p>
<p>"I'm sure Charlie wouldn't mind joining them."</p>
<p>"If you two are done discussing my sex life," Pansy said, rolling her eyes. "I'm going to take a calming draught and a shower."</p>
<p>Pansy was thankful her friends were acting like everything was normal around her. If there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was pitying looks or empty platitudes. Finding out that a man you'd known for most of your life and trusted was out brutally murdering people wasn't something that could be fixed with smiles or hugs.</p>
<p>What she really wanted to work out was <em>why</em> Blaise, who seemed so normal and happy, had decided to strangle strangers. Or anyone for that matter. Pansy knew his life wasn't as happy as people seemed to think it was. He had never known his father who had died before he was born. His mother had brought man after man home, and as soon as Blaise started to care for them, they died.</p>
<p>By their third year, he was living with his grandmother because his mother had moved to Spain with husband number five, or was it six?</p>
<p>He'd fallen for Hermione in their sixth year, but due to the political climate had never been able to pursue her. And then, when they were finally in a stable world and through his friendship, he'd worked up the nerve to ask her out, she had already been dating Draco.</p>
<p>That explained why he wanted to kill a Hermione substitute, but why kill someone that represented her? As far as Pansy knew, Blaise thought of her as a friend and nothing more? Was it because she had started to suspect that someone had been in her flat and he figured it was only a matter of time until she figured it out? Was it to throw them off?</p>
<p>The idea that he had been in her flat when she wasn't here, going through her things made her blood run cold, even under the hot spray of the shower. She needed to think about something else. Anything else. Her eyes landed on Harry's shampoo bottle.</p>
<p>Harry.</p>
<p>What was going on there? They had been friends of a sort for the last few years, but never really talked. They spoke around each other, or he gave her statements, but they'd never had in-depth conversations. But the last few days, they'd gotten to know each other better. Pansy liked having him in her bed and her flat. She liked spending time with him and cooking dinner together. Even if he did insist on having his food touch on his plate.</p>
<p>She had been shocked when he had his outburst, telling her that he had gone through months of starvation before going to school. She has wanted to tell him that she'd gone through months of near-starvation as well, but for another reason.</p>
<p>Being a pureblood female meant she had to look and act a certain way. And puberty weight gain wasn't allowed. Her mother had made comment after comment about her weight and the way her clothes felt until the desire to eat had left her. She'd spent more than one day in the Hospital Wing being force-fed malnutrition potions by Professor Snape and Madame Pomfrey.</p>
<p>Now, she had an unhealthy obsession with food, but listening to Harry, she was starting to see that it was possible to overcome her unhappy childhood. Fuck, if he could trust people after the shit Dumbledore put him through, maybe she could start to let people in.</p>
<p>Or let Harry in to her body.</p>
<p>Fuck, she wanted him. And not just for the mindless, emotionless sex she enjoyed with men like Charlie. She wanted more evenings cooking together, more mornings waking up in his arms, more nights curled up on the sofa working on her articles while he did Auror paperwork.</p>
<p>Knowing there was a dead person downstairs that looked like her made her realise that life was short and she shouldn't waste time.</p>
<p>"Parkinson," Harry's voice called through the closed door. "You coming out soon? I need you."</p>
<p>"I'm coming," she answered him, turning off the shower.</p>
<p>
  <em>Fuck, I'd much rather be yelling 'I'm coming' in bed. Wonder how long it would take to convince him to sleep with me?</em>
</p>
<p>"Pansy? Are you okay?" Harry asked, throwing the door open and walking into her bathroom.</p>
<p>Shock ran through her and she didn't know if she should summon a towel and cover herself or just vanish his clothes and ride him until he begged for mercy. Instead, she just stood there staring at him, one eyebrow raised. Harry walked towards her, his eyes roaming over her body.</p>
<p>"See something you like, Potter?" she asked.</p>
<p>"Abso-fucking-lutely."</p>
<p>"And the reason you entered a naked woman's bathroom is?"</p>
<p>"You moaned and I thought you might be hurt. But you look… well, fuck, you look perfect."</p>
<p>He was standing in front of her now. Close enough that his Auror robes brushed against her hard nipples. His hand reached out and he ran a finger down her side. A shiver of heat and desire ran from the place he touched her to her cunt. Merlin, she was going to have to take another shower.</p>
<p>"I want you," Harry said, meeting her eyes.</p>
<p>"There's a dead body that looks like me downstairs," Pansy said. "Maybe now isn't the time?"</p>
<p>"Or, there is a dead body that looks like you downstairs so now <em>is</em> the time. I need to feel you. Know that you're alive."</p>
<p>Harry picked her up as if she weighed nothing and sat her on her bathroom counter. Her hips bucked as her arse hit the cold marble. Running a finger up her slit, Harry smirked at her.</p>
<p>"I've wanted to touch you since I woke up with you trying fuck me through our clothes, Parkinson," Harry told her, his finger slipping inside and finding her clit. "You're so wet for me already."</p>
<p>Words escaped her mind. She was a reporter, yet the entire English language had vanished from her mind. Who knew Harry Potter would be the one to shut her overactive mind off. Certainly not her. Before she could really process what was happening, Harry was on his knees before her, his messy hair between her thighs, and his tongue flicked against her clit. They hadn't even kissed yet, and already he was eating her cunt like he was starving and it was the world's tastiest dish.</p>
<p>"Fuck, Potter," she cried out as his fingers pressed into her.</p>
<p>"You like that, love?" he asked.</p>
<p>His thumb found her clit as his rough fingertips pressed against her G-spot. She was pretty sure she answered him yes, but her brain was still mush so it may have just been a groan that escaped her mouth. Harry stood, his fingers never leaving her set as he stood between her spread thighs. Pulling her tight against him, his lips found her ear.</p>
<p>"You feel so good wrapped around my fingers, Parkinson. I can't wait until my cock is buried in you. Fucking you until you can't walk anymore. Is that what you want?"</p>
<p>"Yes," Pansy begged. "Fuck me… now… please."</p>
<p>"I don't think so, love. I'm going to wait until you're gagging for my cock. Until your hands and knees, begging me to fill you. To take you."</p>
<p>Pansy's whole body tensed at his filthy words. Fuck, she wanted him. She was so close to coming. Turning her head, she pressed her lips against his. He froze for a half-second before growling and kissing her back. He forced his tongue into her mouth and it was too much. Harry swallowed her cry as her pussy clamped down on his fingers and she came.</p>
<p>"Merlin, Parkinson," Harry said, his breath hot against her forehead. "You're fucking gorgeous when you come."</p>
<p>"I want you, Potter."</p>
<p>"I want you too. Godric knows my balls are about to explode, but I have to get back downstairs."</p>
<p>Harry waved his wand over them, cleaning them off before helping Pansy down. He followed her into her dressing room and talked to her about what they knew as she put clothes on. Blaise was missing. Harry said they were still looking but so far they hadn't found any sign of him or any motivation for why he was killing people. They currently had every Auror they could spare looking for him.</p>
<p>They'd entered his flat and found he'd turned his second bedroom into a murder's lair. There was a list of people on his list, including his mum, Hermione, and Draco. Pansy's name had a note next to it, <em>might suspect me. </em>The list had more than just names. He had written 'Hogwarts Blaise." It, along with his mum, Hermione, and Pansy was crossed out.</p>
<p>"It sounds like he was killing people that had rejected him in some way," Pansy said.</p>
<p>"What do you mean? And how can your younger self reject you?" Harry asked.</p>
<p>"It was all in his head, but Blaise never felt like he could be one of us in Slytherin. He hid that he was Half-Blood, taking his mum's name instead of his Muggleborn father's. Not that I blame him for that, to be honest. But we'd invite him to study with us or go to Hogsmeade and he always said no, kept to himself, until sometime in our fifth year."</p>
<p>"And his mum?"</p>
<p>"She left him behind with his father's family the summer before sixth year. She was on husband five or six by that time, and the guy didn't like kids. She packed up his belongings and left him in a Muggle neighbourhood. He didn't tell us at the time, but he got drunk a few years ago and told us."</p>
<p>Pansy's mind was racing. Clearly, Balise didn't want to kill her or Hermione or he would have. They already knew he could and had entered their homes without detection. It would have been too easy to kill them in their sleep. Instead, it seemed like he was killing the <em>idea</em> of them or something. He was taking someone he had no emotional attachment to, dressing them up and strangling the life out of them.</p>
<p>But why?</p>
<p>If he thought she was getting close to figuring out it was him, why kill someone else and not her? It made no fucking sense.</p>
<p>"Fuck," Harry said. "If he was going after the people on the list, I would know what to do... But he's just killing random people. Do you know where his family lived? In the Muggle world?"</p>
<p>"No. But I think Draco or Theo might. His grandma just died a couple of months ago and she left it to him," Pansy told him.</p><hr/>
<p>Harry had begged Pansy to stay behind, but of course, she didn't listen to him. Once this was all over, he was going to put her over his knee and turn her arse red. <em>Merlin, I hope she's into spankings.</em> She'd summoned her camera, told him she was coming with him as legally allowed as a member of the press and kissed him.</p>
<p>Not able to come because she wasn't a member of the DMLE, Draco had left a spitting mad Hermione at the Burrow and along with Theo, they prepared to Apparate to Blaise's house in the Muggle world. Pansy took his hand briefly and gave it a tight squeeze before turning to Draco and Theo and making them promise they would be safe. Theo took her in his arms and hugged her tight, ready to take her by Side-Along.</p>
<p>Draco smirked as Harry took his hand so the blonde could take him. The squeezing sensation of Apparation was twice as bad when someone else took control and Harry prayed he wouldn't vomit. Draco would never let him down. His feet slammed into the solid ground as the roar of traffic filled his ears.</p>
<p>Opening his eyes, he saw they were between two houses just off a busy road. Cars, trucks, and large lorries rumbled by. The noise was startling compared to the quiet alley they all lived on. Harry turned and looked at Pansy one last time, silently reminding her of her promise to be safe and Apparate out if Blaise turned violent.</p>
<p>They hadn't walked more than ten steps on the pavement when Blaise stepped out from behind a bush in his garden. The three Auror's kept their wands in their hands but didn't lift them in case the Muggles driving by saw.</p>
<p>"Blaise," Theo called, "you know we don't want to hurt you mate. Just come with us and we can talk about it."</p>
<p>"Come with you so I can rot in Azkaban, you mean," Blaise spat.</p>
<p>Harry had worked with Blaise for the last five years and had never heard him so angry or seen his eyes look so full of rage. They were bloodshot and glassy like he'd been drinking or crying.</p>
<p>"You know there are deals you can make," Draco said. "You can afford the best to represent you in court."</p>
<p>"I'm not going anywhere with you."</p>
<p>"Why did you do it, Blaise?" Harry asked. "We saw your list. Why those people? Hermione, Pansy, Draco? They're your friends. We're your friends."</p>
<p>"No you're not," Blaise said, his voice loud but without emotion. "I'm all alone. No family, no friends."</p>
<p>"We've been friends since we were eleven," Theo said. "How can you say that? You're my brother, Blaise."</p>
<p>Blaise looked Theo over before his eyes took in Draco and Harry. He paused as he looked between them and saw Pansy. Blaise's eye twitched but he didn't say anything, just stared at her. His eyes darted between them once more before he turned and looked over his shoulder. Harry gripped his wand, ready to disarm Blaise if he tried anything.</p>
<p>When he turned back around his eyes were blank. Before he was able to process what was happening, Harry heard Pansy scream from behind him.</p>
<p>Blaise, dropping his wand, jumped. Not towards them, but into traffic. Harry heard the loud, wet, thump as Blaise's body collided with a lorry.</p>
<p>Tyres screaming as the driver hit his brakes mingled with Pansy's. Harry was in shock. He couldn't process what he was looking at in the middle of the road. He distantly saw Theo and Draco run towards the body, but he turned the other way and took Pansy in his arms.</p>
<p>Blaise was gone, but she needed him.</p>
<p>Her question echoed in his ear over and over again. <em>Why?</em></p>
<p>Harry didn't know. And now, they would never know why Blaise had done it. They would never know what had driven him to that place. They would never know if they could have helped him.</p>
<p>"Take me home, Potter?" Pansy asked.</p>
<p>Harry looked down at her red, tear-stained face. His job required him to be here. There was so much that needed to be done. He could already hear the Muggle sirens in the distance, coming to the scene of the accident. Harry looked over his shoulder at Draco, his partner and second in command. Draco nodded once and Harry could hear what he was saying. <em>Take her home. I'll handle this.</em></p>
<p>"Come on, love," Harry whispered. "I've got you."</p><hr/>
<p>
  <strong>Two Years Later</strong>
</p><hr/>
<p>"Hey, Pansy," Harry called down the table. "Got a hot tip for you."</p>
<p>They were out to dinner with their friends like they did every Saturday night. The last two years had included a lot of therapy, a lot of tears, but a lot of joy as well. Hermione and Draco had gotten married and were expecting their first child. Theo, Daphne, <em>and</em> Astoria had gone public with their relationship to the horror of the girls' parents and the delight of Theo. Thanks to some journalistic magic from Pansy, triads were all the rage right now.</p>
<p>"Oh yeah?" Pansy teased. "What's that? Finally going to let me write that article? Harry Potter and His Pelvic Sorcery? Or The Saviour's Guide to Pleasing Your Witch: Ten Ways to Drive Her Crazy?"</p>
<p>The table, all except for Ron who looked green at hearing about Harry's sex life with Pansy, laughed. The healthy sex life of Harry and Pansy was well known by everyone since most of them had Floo'd in on them at least once before learning that Apparating and knocking was a safer option.</p>
<p>"I was thinking something along the lines of The Boy Who Weds — How Pansy Parkinson Stole His Heart."</p>
<p>Harry pulled a ring box out of his pocket and opened it.</p>
<p>"What do you say, love?" he teased her. "Want to make headlines with me?"</p>
<p>Pansy looked from him to the ring and back.</p>
<p>"Abso-fucking-lutely."</p><hr/>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Let me know what you thought!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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